Scented candle wick

ABSTRACT

A scented wick including a wick and an aromatic substance is provided. The aromatic substances can be any material including a chemical or fire retardant. A scent enhancer may be used with the aromatic substance. The scented wick may be sealed with a thin layer of wax to prevent scent loss and prepare the scented wick for individual sale. When used, the scented wick will produce more effective scent production than conventional scented candles. Also the scented wick will extinguish with less smoldering and smoking than a conventional wick. Methods for producing the scented wick are also disclosed herein.

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Ser. No.60/538,725, filed Jan. 22, 2004 and U.S. Provisional Ser. No.60/608,720, filed Sep. 10, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to the field of candles, and morespecifically to an improved candle wick.

2. Description of the Related Art

Candles have become popular for decorative and aromatic purposes. Thecandles may be manufactured from a wax, such as paraffin, vegetable orbeeswax.

Scented wax candles have been widely used for producing a scent. Suchcandles are conventionally made by blending an aromatic substance intomelted wax. The resulting aromatic mixture is poured into a candle moldwith a fiber wick disposed therein. The wick is generally made from anabsorbent twine such as cotton. The wax then cools, forming a solidcandle.

When the wick of the candle is lit, the heat gradually melts the waxadjacent the wick. This melted wax forms a melt pool. When the wickburns, the wick must have a strong capillary action to absorb liquid waxpooled at the top of the candle and draw it up the wick. The waxprovides fuel for the flame so that the wax burns instead of the wick.As the wax becomes vaporized by the flame, aromatic substances aredispersed.

Changes to the material used for the wick, the thickness of the wick,the core material of the wick, and the braid of the wick all affect howmuch capillary action the wick provides. The greater the capillaryaction, the greater amount of wax provided to the flame. The more waxthat is provided to the flame, the more aromatic substances can bedispersed. However, if too much wax is provided to the flame, the flamewill not receive enough oxygen to burn all of the wax effectively andsmoking will result.

As the scented wax burns, the aromatic substance in the wax is releasedinto the air. The released scent disperses into the air, lending apleasant scent to the surrounding area.

Scented wax candles are generally inefficient for scent generation formultiple reasons. First, during use, most of the heat of the candleflame travels upward and away from the scented wax. Accordingly, much ofthe aromatic substances remain in the melted wax. Wicks are also oftendesigned to be thinner to avoid releasing a lot of soot and bad smellafter being extinguished. Thinner wicks are also used to minimize theamount of time a wick smolders after the candle flame is extinguished. Asmoldering wick also presents a safety hazard. As a result of thinnerwicks, candles do not burn as much wax, thus limiting the amount ofaromatic substances released into the air. It would be desirable toincrease scent generation without having to increase wick size.Alternatively, it would be desirable to increase wick size without thenegative smoking side effects.

It is often desirable to use thicker wicks because they have greatercapillary action (necessary for larger candles with a larger wax meltpool) and thus produce a larger more beautiful flame and release morearomatic substances while burning. Unfortunately, despite the benefitsof thicker wicks they are often avoided due to their added soot andsmoking when extinguished. Thus it would be desirable to have the optionof using a thicker wick while minimizing increases in the soot and smokysmell released during extinguishing, and while minimizing smolderingduring extinguishing.

For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an improved scentdispenser for use with candles that permits the user to easily changethe type, rate or strength of scent for dispensing. It would be asignificant advance in the art of scent dispensing to develop a scentdispenser for use with candles, which efficiently provides pleasantscents in a safe manner, while being inexpensive and easy to use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure overcomes these problems and limitations of theprior art.

Generally, the present disclosure provides for placing aromaticsubstances and other materials in a wick to produce a scented wick. Thescented wick releases scent while being burned. The scented wick alsoreleases less smoke and smolders less after being extinguished. Thescented wick can be used to produce a scented candle, with or withoutscented wax.

These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome more readily apparent from the following Detailed Description,which proceeds with references to the drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-C are diagrams showing how to produce a scented wick.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another way to produce a scented wick.

FIG. 3A is a graph comparing smoke produced by a conventional wick withsmoke produced by a scented wick.

FIG. 3B is a diagram comparing the effects of a conventional wick withthe effects of a scented wick.

FIGS. 4A-B are diagrams comparing different characteristics ofconventional wicks with characteristics of scented wicks.

FIGS. 5-8 are diagrams comparing characteristics of a conventionalscented candle with characteristics of a scented candle produced byusing a scented wick.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

The present invention relates to a candle wick having an aromaticsubstance embedded therein, and methods for making the scented wick anda candle using the scented wick. The resultant scented wick can beemployed in conjunction with scented wax to produce a scented candle.The scent in the wax and the scent in the wick could be different,producing a new aromatic effect during burning. Also, the resultantscented wick can be employed in conjunction with unadulterated(unscented) wax (i.e., a wax base lacking an aromatic substance) toproduce a scented candle.

The aromatic substances are impregnated into the wick that then releasesa scent that masks, neutralizes, or counteracts the normal smelltypically released by a wick when extinguished. The result is anodorless or seemingly odorless extinguishing. In one embodiment, thescent is released after the flame is extinguished while the wick isstill smoldering. By creating an odorless extinguishing process, theremaining wax melt pool can continue to release a scent (in the case ofscented wax) for a short time after extinguishing.

By selecting the proper aromatic substances, or by mixing the propermaterials with the aromatic substances, the wick can have a shortersmoldering time and reduced smoke when extinguished. For example, usingfire retardant aromatic substances in the wick, or mixing fire retardantmaterials with the aromatic substances, the wick has a reducedsmoldering time and in turn creates less smoke.

Even when the wick does smolder, scent continues to be released from thewick reducing offensive odors. The resultant wick releases fewerun-burnt carbons than conventional wicks after being extinguished.

Wicks used for candles generally are constructed of a variety of wicktypes, including without limitation cored wicks, flat-braid wicks,square-braid wicks, and HTP wicks. Such wicks are known in the art andare capable of being impregnated and/or coated with conventional scentedcompounds.

Conventional aromatic substances suitable for use in candles includeliquid scent compounds, which can be either organic (oil-based) scentcompounds or aqueous (non-oil-based) liquid scent substances. Chemicalsalso may be used. As well, crushed powdered incense can be employed.Scent enhancers are compounds that stabilize the aromatic substances,chemically interact with such substances, and/or facilitate scentrelease when the scented wax or wick is burned. Aromatic substances andscent enhancers are known in the candle fragrance art. Other substancesmay also be used.

The wick may also be oxygenated. An oxygenated wick is able to burn morewax from a wax pool without producing smoke. One conventional limitationto increasing the capillary action of a wick was that wax will not beburned due to lack of adequate oxygen and will thus produce smoke.Oxygenating the scented wick may allow for greater capillarycharacteristics in the wick without the negative downsides of smokingduring burning.

A scented wick may be produced as described in FIGS. 1 and 2. Accordingto FIG. 1A, a wick 10 of any size or length is soaked to saturation in amix 12 including, for example, oil-based liquid scent, non oil-basedliquid scent, crushed powdered incense, water, scent enhancers, andother ingredients as desired. These scents are known to those skilled inthe art and therefore are not described in further detail. According toFIGS. 1B and 1C, other techniques besides soaking may be used toimpregnate, implant, or cover the wick with aromatic substances 11.

Optionally a fire retardant 13 may also be added to the mix to furtherreduce smoke and smoldering produced by the resulting scented wick. Forexample, a fire retardant material similar to that used in clothing maybe used. The fire retardant may be part of the aromatic substance 11 ofanother material 13. The fire retardant material can be any commerciallyavailable chemical used for producing a fire retardant effect whenapplied to a material. For example, any of the fire retardant materialsproduced by Flame Stop, Inc., Fort Worth, Tex. The fire retardant can bechemicals, putty, liquids, additives, etc.

According to FIG. 2, after soaking in the substance 11, the soaked wick10 a is dried by any method (e.g. air dried, heat dried, freeze dried,pressure vacuum dried, etc.) to lock the scent 11 in the wick 10. Ifanother method besides soaking is used, drying may be unnecessary. Thewick 10 is then optionally wax-sealed with a thin layer of wax 20 tofurther lock in the scent 11. Wax sealing 20 endows the wicks with alonger shelf life. If a fire retardant is added, wax sealing 20 may takeplace without drying to prevent the fire retardant from evaporating.

A scented wick may be used in the manufacture of a candle inconventional and known manners. For manufacture of a candle having ascented wick as described herein, the wick need not be wax-sealed priorto candle manufacture. Alternatively, a scented wick may be produced forindividual sale. Such individual scented wicks might preferably bewax-sealed 20 to better fix the scent 11 within the wick 10.

A wick 10 having an aromatic substance 11 embedded therein is beneficialin many ways over a traditional scented candle with a standard candlewick. For example, the scented wick 10 might continue to release scentfor a short time after the flame is extinguished. The released scentmasks the sooty, burnt smell commonly associated with extinguishing awick. The wick 10 of the present disclosure therefore reduces thedisagreeable odors produced when a candle is extinguished. The wick 10may also counteract or retard the disagreeable smoke odors producing aseemingly odorless extinguishing.

The scented wicks described herein are also believed to benon-allergenic, in that they release fewer unburnt carbons and sootfilled bacteria into the air compared to conventional candle wicks.According to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the addition of the proper aromaticsubstances 11, or by mixing the proper materials with the aromaticsubstances, the wick 10 will extinguish faster than conventional wick30, thus reducing smoldering and smoke. Reducing wick smoldering timealso makes the wick safer. The addition of the proper aromaticsubstances to the wick 10 results in a substantially no smoke after aflame is extinguished.

Another benefit is that a thicker wick can be used without theconventional increases in smoldering and smoking. For example, accordingto FIG. 4A, a candle may be limited to using a conventional 30 ply wick40 to prevent the amount of smoldering and smoking 32 typically producedby a conventional 36 ply wick 41. By applying a scent, a 36 ply scentedwick 43 produces less smoldering and smoke than the 30 ply conventionwick 40. Or a 30 ply scented wick 42 can be used that produces even lesssmoke 32.

Furthermore, the scented wicks 42 or 43 retain the benefits of greatercapillary action resulting in more wax being burned while the candle islit. The greater wax burn produces more scent and a brighter flame.Accordingly, the scented wicks 42 and 43 can be thicker withoutincreased smoldering and soot thereby providing more candle designoptions.

The present scented wicks 42 and 43 may have more illuminating flames,enhancing the beauty of the flame and the aesthetic appeal of a candlehaving such wick. Selecting different aromatic substances, or by mixingthe different materials with the aromatic substances, can change anyproperty of the flame including the color and/or brightness.

The present scented wick can be used in conjunction with unadulteratedwax. From an aesthetic standpoint, some aromatic substances can discoloror adversely affect the structure or appearance of wax compositions.This is shown in FIG. 5. The conventional scented candle 50 with aconventional wick 52 is embedded with an aromatic substance 11. Thearomatic substance 11 can be seen in the wax 58. In contrast, thepresent scented wick 10 can produce a scented candle 53 void of aromaticsubstances 11 in the wax 58 thus producing a more aesthetically pleasingscented candle 53.

In conventional scented candle 50, the embedded aromatic substance 11may interact with the wax 58. Such undesirable chemical interaction andinterference can diminish scent dispensing efficiency. Placement of thearomatic substance 11 in the wick 10 eliminates the chance of an adversereaction between the aromatic substance 11 and the wax 58 in the candle53.

The scented wick 10 according to the present disclosure can alsoincrease the scent “volume” per burn time as shown in FIG. 6. Accordingto FIG. 6, the conventional scented candle 50 does not release a highvolume of scent 54 while burning. A scented candle 53 using the presentscented wick 10 concentrates the aromatic substance 11 in the candlewick 10 rather than distributing the scent throughout the wax body 58.Thus, a greater amount of scent 55 is released by combustion of the wick10, or the combination of scent 11 in wax 58 and scent in wick 10increases overall scent 55 for candle 53. The chemical for the scentused in the wick 10 can be the same as the chemical and scent 11 used inthe wax 58. Alternatively, different scents can be used for the wick 10and in the wax 58. The chemicals that produce the scents can also bedifferent in both the wick 10 and wax 58.

Conventional scented candles also possess a limited shelf life, owing tothe porosity of wax. As shown in FIG. 7, a large amount of scent 57escapes from the scented conventional candle 50 while the candle is notbeing used. By depositing the aromatic substance 11 in the candle wick10, rather than the wax 58, the present invention reduces scent lossover time. Sealing the wick 10 with wax as shown in FIG. 2 also furtherprevents scent loss from wick 10.

Another problem exists where conventional scented wax candles spreadtheir scent while unlit and on display. According to FIG. 8, scentedconventional candle 50 provides a large porous surface area of scentedwax 58 that releases a scent 60 even when the candle is not burning.Users sometimes want the scent to be released only when the candle isburning. By depositing the aromatic substance 11 in the candle wick 10,rather than in the wax 58, this problem is reduced and the scentedcandle 53 does not release scent while unlit and on display. Wax sealingthe wick 10 as described in FIG. 2 above can further prevent scent loss.Alternatively, wax 58 can use less scent 11 and still provide an equalaromatic experience as candle 50.

Another shortcoming of conventional scented candles is the possibleunfavorable interaction between the wax and the aromatic substance. Somewax compositions may negatively alter the aromatic substance's physicaland chemical properties, potentially suppressing scent generation orproducing undesirable odors. For example, a burning candle typicallyproduces a “burning wax” smell that an embedded scent is intended tocover-up. A negative interaction can reduce the efficiency of theembedded scent, making the waxy odor 60 more prominent. The scented wick10 precludes the need for an aromatic substance 11 in the wax 58 andfacilitates a stronger scent release compared to the burning wax odor60.

Also, with regard to using the present scented wick 10 in conjunctionwith unadulterated wax, the scented wick 10 according to the presentdisclosure also allows easier candle manufacturing. For example,traditionally non-scented candles and scented candles of varying scentswould require different wax mixtures. The manufacturer would be requiredto keep non-scented wax mixes separate from each of the differentscented wax mixes. A scented wick precludes the need for keeping all thedifferent wax mixtures separate because a single wax mixture can be usedto make both non-scented candles and scented candles of varying scent.One of skill in the art would recognize that the present invention couldof course also be used with scented wax too.

A person skilled in the art will be able to practice the presentinvention in view of the description present in this document, which isto be taken as a whole. Numerous details have been set forth in order toprovide a more thorough understanding of the invention. In otherinstances, well-known features have not been described in detail inorder not to obscure unnecessarily the invention.

While the invention has been disclosed in its preferred form, thespecific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are notto be considered in a limiting sense. Indeed, it should be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art in view of the present descriptionthat the invention can be modified in numerous ways. The inventorregards the subject matter of the invention to include all combinationsand sub-combinations of the various elements, features, functions and/orproperties disclosed herein.

1. A scented wick comprising: a wick; and an aromatic substance embeddedin or applied on the wick.
 2. The scented wick of claim 1 including ascent enhancer embedded in or applied on the wick.
 3. The scented wickof claim 1, wherein the aromatic substance is a chemical.
 4. The scentedwick of claim 1, wherein the aromatic substance is crushed poweredincense.
 5. The scented wick of claim 1 further comprising a first thinwax layer applied around the wick for sealing in the aromatic substance,the first thin wax layer separate from a second wax layer applied overthe first wax layer for forming a candle.
 6. The scented wick of claim 1including a scented wax surrounding most of the wick to form a scentedcandle.
 8. The scented wick of claim 1 including a non-scented waxsurrounding most of the wick to form a scented candle.
 9. The scentedwick of claim 1 wherein the aromatic substance, or a smolder reducingmaterial incorporated into the aromatic substance, reduces an amount ofsmoldering after a flame on the wick is extinguished.
 10. The scentedwick of claim 9 wherein the aromatic substance or the smolder reducingmaterial is a fire retardant.
 11. The scented wick of claim 1 whereinthe aromatic substance, or a smolder reducing material incorporated withthe aromatic substance, reduces unburnt carbons produced by a flame onthe wick after being extinguished.
 12. The scented wick of claim 1wherein the aromatic substance, or a smolder reducing materialincorporated with the aromatic substance, reduces an amount of smokecreated by the wick after a flame on the wick is extinguished.
 13. Amethod of forming a scented wick comprising: impregnating or disposingan aromatic substance into or onto a wick separately from any waxapplied around the wick to form a candle.
 14. The method of claim 13impregnating or disposing an aromatic substance into or onto the wick bysoaking the wick in the aromatic substance.
 15. The method of claim 13wherein the aromatic substance comprises an oil-based liquid scent, nonoil-based liquid scent, crushed powdered incense, or water and scentenhancers.
 16. The method of claim 13 including mixing a fire retardantin with the aromatic substance.
 17. The method of claim 13 includingsealing the wick in wax to seal in the aromatic substance.
 18. A methodaccording to claim 13 including applying wax around the wick to form ascented candle.
 19. The method of claim 18 including using an unscentedwax to form the candle.
 20. The method of claim 18 including using ascented wax to form the candle.